Though nobody can ever truly stop you from dusting off the already released Friday the 13th movies and popping them into your media player of choice (I’m sure a few of you still have your VHS copies), it’s quite disheartening to think that another entry into the franchise is likely many years off – if it ever arrives at all.
Of course, I don’t mean to start off your day with such a downer but, as you may have heard, the franchise as a whole – video games included – has been in legal limbo since last summer, thus prohibiting what would be the thirteenth entry into the series from seeing the light of day. Basically, it’s due to Victor Miller, screenwriter on the original flick from 1980, attempting to terminate a grant of rights and reclaim ownership of the brand.
Getting back to the topic of gaming, it was recently revealed that this crapstorm has brought an untimely end to Friday the 13th: The Game‘s DLC content. And despite the efforts of those trying to clear up some of the legal jargon for the layman, it’s understandable for you to wonder if the embargo of sorts will ever be lifted.
Well, according to Gun Media’s own Wes Keltner, the answer is a resounding “no,” and here’s why:
“Development on games can’t just pause indefinitely and pick back up again; it doesn’t work that way. Especially when you have no idea when that future date will occur. We can’t keep building content that may never see the light of day. That’s bad business. I’ve also had questions about adding non-F13′ related content to the game. ‘Can’t you make a new level or a new counselor that has nothing to do with the films?’ We can’t do that either. We can’t add any content, whatsoever. Nada. Not even a new tree or rock. We can only focus on console dedicated servers, bug fixes, and maintenance.”
To be frank, Keltner is right about developers having to move onto other projects at some point; these people have families to feed and bills to pay, so they can’t sit around waiting for a call that may never come or abandon whatever their next gig may be.
That said, lovers of Friday the 13th: The Game can at least say they were party to one hell of a ride while it lasted. Here’s to hoping the slaying will continue via a sequel before long.